With more than one million page views and more than 4,000 items, this blog provides news and commentary on public policy, business and economic issues related to the $3 billion California stem cell agency, officially known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine(CIRM). David Jensen, a retired California newsman, has published this blog since January 2005. His email address is djensen@californiastemcellreport.com.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The California Stem Cell Report today
received the following email from Don Reed, a patient advocate, who
has long been involved in California stem cell agency affairs. Reed
is vice president of public policy for Americans for Cures
Foundation, a position he has held for some years. Americans for
Cures is the personal lobbying organization created by Robert Klein,
former chairman of the California stem cell agency. Reed said his
opinions below are his own and may or may not reflect those of the
foundation.

“When
Bob Klein donated $21,630 to the California stem cell program (to
allow scientists to attend a research conference in Japan) he was
doing exactly what he always does: advancing research to ease
suffering and save lives. The scientists needed a way to attend
a top-level conference. Believing in the benefits of researchers
sharing thoughts, Bob paid for their trip.

“Unfortunately,
your article appears to imply corrupt motivations.

“'A
seemingly innocuous…gift…generated a wave of special favors for
(Klein) that stretched out to include a gold mining multimillionaire
from Canada.'.
A 'wave of special favors?' The article
states that 'Klein wanted to meet with the six science officers…'
and to get their impressions on the conference.

“Is
that not natural? First, would it not be helpful to hear from the
scientists if the trip was worth the time and expense? Second, Bob
Klein works in real estate, a full-time job. He does not have the
scientist’s automatic involvement to keep him up to speed on
everything new in regenerative research. But he wants to know the
latest: what is working, what is not. He is always eager for a chance
to speak one-on-one with an expert.

“He met with a Canadian
millionaire? Why is this shocking? The millionaire supports stem cell
research; so does Bob. California is working closely with Canada on
several projects; they pay their scientists, we pay ours; more bang
for the buck. If there is a person with the resources and will to
advance Canadian research, it is natural that Bob would want to
develop a deeper interest in the shared research.

“And why
should Klein be criticized for supporting a research project
attempting to alleviate Alzheimer’s? He saw his own mother die of
the disease, after losing the ability to recognize her own son.
I am familiar with that particular Alzheimer’s project, and
it had some amazing results, restoring memory to laboratory rats.
This was a water maze test, and the rats recovered the memory of a
pathway out of the water, which they had forgotten. To the best of my
knowledge, no one else in the world had achieved memory return, and
the project deserved the most serious consideration. Yes, the
board of directors voted against the Grants Working Group; it is not
only their right but their responsibility to exercise judgment, and
not merely be a rubber stamp for the GWG.

“There is also the
matter of free speech. Anybody else in California can come to the
meetings of the program and voice their opinion—why should Klein be
denied the right to voice his opinion?

“Bob Klein owns no
stem cell stock, no biomedical enterprises. Financially, supporting
stem cell research has cost him a great deal. This is the man who led
the fight to build the California stem cell program, donating roughly
six million dollars, taking out loans on his house to help finance
Proposition 71. And, for six years (without salary) he worked
full-time as Chair of the Board of the oversight committee.
Physically and emotionally, it has been an exhausting decade for him.
He has not profited in any way, except to see the advancement of
research for cure.

“Passing a $3 billion stem cell program
in the midst of a recession was like relocating Mount
Everest—seemingly impossible, but he did it anyway. He moved the
mountain. Thousands of people helped, but one man made it possible.
Without Bob Klein, California would not have the greatest stem cell
program in the world: challenging diseases considered incurable since
the dawn of time. That he should continue to support it, with his
dollars, time, energy and creativity, is commendable.

“Sometimes
a good deed is just that: no sinister motivations, no secret
agendas-- just a positive action which benefits all.”

About Me

The California Stem Cell Report is the only nongovernmental website devoted solely to the $3 billion California stem cell agency. The report is published by David Jensen, who worked for 22 years for The Sacramento Bee in a variety of editing positions, including executive business editor and special projects editor. He was the primary editor on the 1992 Pulitzer Prize-winning series, "The Monkey Wars" by Deborah Blum, which dealt with opposition to research on primates. Jensen served as a press aide in the 1974 campaign and first administration of Gov. Jerry Brown. (Time served: two years and one week.) He writes from his sailboat on the west coast of Mexico with occasional visits to land. Jensen began writing about the stem cell agency in 2005, noting that it is an unprecedented effort that uniquely combines big science, big business, big academia, big politics, religion, ethics and morality as well as life and death. The California Stem Cell Report has been identified as one of the best stem cell sites on the Internet. Its readership includes the media (both mainstream and science), a wide range of academic/research institutions globally, the NIH and California policy makers.